Week 2 of the NFL regular season kicked off Thursday night with an impressive battle between Giants and Washington. The week continues Sunday night with a number of interesting matches waiting for us. One of them is going to be between Pittsburgh Steelers and Las Vegas Raiders, the two teams that won their first games in the championship.
Pittsburgh proved their serious intentions
Steelers had to face the American Football Conference (AFC) favorite, the Buffalo Bills, in their first championship game. Buffalo's young quarterback Josh Allen was one of the brightest players in the entire league last year. He might have even contended for the title of Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the regular Season under certain circumstances, but Rodgers and Mahomes had brighter results.
At the beginning of this season, many thought the Bills would only get stronger. Their leaders are getting wiser.
And that's the kind of opponent Pittsburgh ran over in Week 1. Ben Roethlisberger had a decent second half, though his start wasn’t very good. Couldn't get his attack going, fumbled even, but everything changed in the second half.
But T.J. Watt is especially worth your attention. In the offseason, the younger of the Watt brothers became the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL His contract signing lasted almost all of training camp, and T.J. hardly ever practiced with the team. But who cares about practice when you have crazy physical abilities and blazing speed!
Watt ended up with 2 sacks, 3 tackles, and a fumble. With a leader like that, the Steelers will go a long way.
The Raiders won a wild game at home
And Las Vegas had its first-ever NFL fan game in Week 1. It was a real show. Last year, the Raiders moved to Nevada from California, but they couldn't play a single home game with full stands because of the pandemic. That story is finally in the past, and the brand new stadium in Las Vegas is now bursting with crowds of fans. There were no disappointed fans that night.
The Raiders were visited by the Baltimore Ravens, with one of the brightest players of our time, Lamar Jackson.
Jackson was excellent for most of the game, only to fumble at one crucial moment, deciding the outcome of the match.
The Raiders had problems in overtime, but Derek Carr managed to assist Zay Jones who sealed the win for the home team.
Head-to-head encounters
The Steelers have had far more triumphs than the Raiders over the past twenty years. They are constantly among the top favorites for the championship, unlike their opponents. But in the games between these teams, things are completely different.
Since 2006, the teams have played seven games, the Silver and Black winning 5 of them.
Expert Betting Tips
The center of the upcoming encounter will be the struggle of Pittsburgh's defense against the Raiders' offense. The Steelers’ defense was weak in Week 1, while their opponents' offense has been sharpened by the Carr-Waller tandem. In this case, the cornerstone of the game could be the cover work against Waller and the front-line defense's pressure on Derek Carr. Given T.J. Watt's excellent form, the Pennsylvanian defense has a high chance of succeeding in the latter part.
Among other things, there’s Pittsburgh's running back Najee Harris who wasn't very productive in week one, making 49 yards per carry, but he is very likely to become an asset for his team in week 2, as the Raiders were powerless against such play last week, allowing Baltimore make 189 yards on the ground. And yet the Ravens lost their 2 main running backs before the game. And yet, they were able to have a strong outing.
Prediction: Pittsburgh will win, thanks to their defense and their advantage in the ground game.
Other predictions
